INDIANAPOLIS – Brittany Force powered her way to the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Fuel on Friday during the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the final regular-season race of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Force, who is seeking her first Indy win, ran 3.670 seconds at 327.27 mph in her Advance Auto Parts dragster to take the top spot. If the run, which was just off the track record at Indy, holds, it would give Force her sixth No. 1 qualifier of 2019 and 16th in her career. Defending world champion and points leader Steve Torrence was the only other driver to reach the 3.60 second bracket, going 3.688 seconds at 323.81 mph to sit second. His father, Billy, is third as he tries to break into the top 10 this weekend.
“It definitely felt fast,” Force said. “We went right down the track and put an awesome number on the board. It was a pretty awesome run, but the next two days are going to be the important ones setting us up for Monday. We’re really looking for consistency because that’s where we’ve been struggling, so this is a good start to the weekend and we’re very happy with that. I want to win here. I’ve been coming here since I was a baby and it’s on my bucket list.”
Funny Car’s Beckman, who is after his first win of the year, drove his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to an impressive 3.875-second pass at 328.46 mph. It would give Beckman, the 2015 Indy winner, his first No. 1 qualifier this year and 25th in his career if it holds.
His Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, who won the most recent race in Brainerd, is second, while J.R. Todd, the defending and back-to-back Indy winner, sits third.
In Pro Stock, Line went 6.570 seconds at 209.62 mph to take the No. 1 spot in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro. Line, who won the most recent event in Brainerd, is aiming for his second-straight and third overall top qualifier of the season, and 56th in his career. Erica Enders, the runner-up at Brainerd, is second after Friday, while points leader Bo Butner is third.
Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Hines raced to the top spot on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, going 6.864 seconds at 194.63 mph. It would give Hines, a seven-time winner this year, his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 45th in his career. Defending world champion Matt Smith is currently second and Jerry Savoie sits third.
In the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, three-time world champ Rickie Smith took the top spot on Friday with a run of 5.746 seconds at 251.95 mph in his Camaro.